The Mercantini Theatre was designed by Pietro Maggi of Ticino in 1790, and it is located inside the Podestà Palace. Maggi was a designer from Val di Muggio, near Mendrisio, and he settled in the Marche region with his father Carlo Maggi:he was particularly involved in designing civil architecture, especially for theatrical purposes, such as the Serpente Aureo Theatre of Offida and the Arancio Theatre of Grottammare. The theatre was opened in 1824, even if it was incomplete. Later, in 1837, the architect Francesco Bassotti was in charge of completing the building; it was finally opened in 1843: the tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor by the composer Gaetano Donizetti was one the most important opera of the tradition of Ripatransone. n 1894, the theatre was dedicated to the Renaissance poet Luigi Mercantini. The entrance is thorugh the porch of Podestà Palace, often known as Palace of the Elders, which is characterized by a sequence of round arches on stone columns. The main facade is in neo-medieval style. The foyer and the hall are on the second floor of the palace. The hall has a horseshoe plan as the Serpente Aureo Theatre of Offida. The hall ceiling is decorated with floral patterns and a series of lockets representing the faces of Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Vittorio Alfieri, Vincenzo Bellini, Carlo Goldoni and Pietro Metastasio. In 2008 the theatre was forced to close, and it has recently undergone renovation work and plant system upgrades, which allowed disabled people to enter the building. On April 14, 2012 the theatre was reopened and celebrated with the  Italian Hymn of Mameli.